Haya Takahashi
Haya Takahashi is the Vice-captain of the 6th division and currently the acting commander due to the death of Tomoe Gozen and the defection of Kiroth Heironeous. Apperance Haya appears to be a 15 year old human girl of asian ethnicity, though is undoubtedly much older as are many shinigami. She has bright green eyes and black hair that extends slightly below the length of her head, though she has a silver braid that extends from the left, resting on the front of her shoulder. She is 5'1"(155cm), and weighs 98lbs(44kg) Personality Haya tends to appear fairly friendly, though quickly becomes serious when the situation calls for it. She adheres to a philosophy of altruistic utilitarianism, partially due to her empathetic abilities. Though she used to be somewhat insecure, especially in the face of more rigid or important figures such as her captain or another member of the kuchiki house, she has become more calm, though she tends to adopt a more rigid appearance when around nobles and significantly outranking shinigami. While outgoing, she is careful, sometimes too careful to avoid offending others but is not above showing some signs of contempt for those she believes create unnecessary pain or hardship. History The Takahashi family is affiliated with the Ukitake family through subserviance, though not to the extreme degree that the Fon are to the Shihouhin. However, they would still customarily send stronger members of their family to be guards and weaker members as servants. Haya was one of those sent as servants, and stayed there as such for a good few years. However, during a meeting between the Heads of the Ukitake and Omaeda families, things became quite heated, leading Haya to collapse outside, having been overwhelmed by the emotions of the two involved. After her recovery, this was determined to be a byproduct of an odd aptitude for sensing and controlling spiritual power, an offbeat but still distinct marker of reiryoku development. Some time later, she was reccommended to the shinigami academy. During her time there, she started to use her empathy more often, leading her to develop a somewhat odd personal philosophy as a result of a limitation of her powers, that she cannnot tell the difference between an emotion or emotional feeling, and the will to create it. Over time, she started to place the same moral value on experience and intent, adopting a philosophy of altruistic utilitarianism. It was also during this time that she developed a strange tendancy to use a reverse-grip stance, alongside the use of kido. After graduating from the academy, she initially requested to join the 13th squad, due to her family's connection to the then-captain of squad 13, Juushio Ukitake. However, due to her tendancy to use hybridized techniques as well as her unusual aptitude for sensing and controlling reiryoku, she was transferred to the 6th squad. Plot Doom Wing Arc During the subversion and attacks perpetrated against the soul society, Haya was given the duty of interviewing those who have had contact with the Doom Wing both in order to gain more information, as well as to weed out a suspected traitor. During this time, she inadvertantly found out about the presence of a hybrid species aside from the Arrancar, the Vizard. Due to the restricted nature of information pertaining to the Vizard, she has kept quiet about her knowledge, as well as the fact that others revealed this to her. Powers and Abilities Empathy: For a currently unknown reason, if any, Haya possesses an unusual aptitude for manipulating and sensing reiryoku. This partially manifests as the ability to sense the emotions of others nearby, though it has the significant weakness of not being able to tell the difference between the will to cause an emotion and an emotion itself. And example of this would be the inability to tell the difference between malice and pain respectively. Furthermore, due to the ability to sense intent when a person is emotionally driven, she can use empathy to discern patterns indicative of an enemy's attack, effectively granting her low-level precognition. Kido Specialist: Due to her affinity for using reiryoku, Haya can learn and use kido somewhat more quickly than the average shinigami. Hybridized Combat' Style': Another indirect byproduct of her affinity for using reiryoku, Haya tends to use Hadou, Bakudou, and direct combinations thereof alongside normal zanjutsu. This provides a solid, if not unpredictable combat style that can sometimes allow her to fight on par with others with more raw power. Zanpakuto: Ho-o(Phoenix), Haya's zanpakuto takes the shape of a spear with a pair of folded wings serving as the spearhead on a red pole, with a pair of flame like feathers trailing down the pole in a helix. Kuchibashi(Beak): The head of the spear becomes superheated, in order to enhance a normal strike from Ho-o. Zanpakuto Abilities: Ho-o is pyrokinetic, and is capable of producing heat and flame from the tip, as well as the trail on the pole for multiple purposes. Relationships Netasha Dela'mortes: Initially, Haya met Netasha in a sparring match in the time between her graduation and her assignment to a squad, with Netasha as the victor. Afterwards, they had been on good terms up until recently, when Netasha unveiled her zanpakuto to Haya. Due to her belief in the concept of altruistic utilitarianism, Haya saw Netasha's zanpakuto as something dangerous, if not altogether evil. After a revision of her philosophy, she has come to regard Netasha's zanpakuto as something of a necessary evil, though still, something to be avoided when possible. Sakura Ryuunami: